Black and White — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Black and White by Django Reinhardt — key of C (manouche), form A B. Below is the full chord grid; on Haute Gitanerie you can play along with a scrolling chord ribbon, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and switch on a rhythm backing (la pompe) to practise your solos over the changes.
About
Black and White is a Django Reinhardt original recorded in 1938 with the Quintette du Hot Club de France (Stéphane Grappelli on violin). It's one of the many swinging vehicles from the group's classic Paris-and-London period.
The sound — a lively number centred on C major, its melody bouncing between dominant sevenths, minor-sixth colours and diminished chords that keep the harmony moving briskly under the tune.
Practising it — treat it as a swing workout. Drill your C major, dominant and m6 arpeggios, resolve the diminished links cleanly, and keep a steady, driving pompe underneath before opening up the solo.
Black and White chords — the grille
A : | E7/B | E7/B | Gm6/B♭ | Gm6/B♭ | D7/A | D7/A | Fm6/A♭ | Fm6/A♭ | C/G | C/G | A♭ | A♭ | C | C | A7 | A7 | Dm | A7 | Dm | Dm | B7 | B7 | Em | G7 |
B : | E7/B | E7/B | Gm6/B♭ | Gm6/B♭ | D7/A | D7/A | Fm6/A♭ | Fm6/A♭ | C/G | C/G | A♭ | A♭ | C | C | A7 | A7 |
Chords used
E7/B · Gm6/B♭ · D7/A · Fm6/A♭ · C/G · A♭ · A7 · Dm · B7 · Em · G7
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Black and White: loop any section, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and play over a rhythm accompaniment — with a real recorded pompe on featured tunes. In the browser, free.